Heading back to Detroit, Terrell Suggs reflects on 'malice in my heart' game

Aaron WilsonThe Baltimore Sun

It was eight years ago when Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs got ejected from a road game against the Detroit Lions by referee Mike Carey, who famously said the Pro Bowl pass rusher "bumped me with malice in his heart."

Suggs' facemask brushed against Carey's cap. Suggs was infuriated by being flagged for roughing the passer. It prompted the ejection and a $15,000 fine for impermissible contact with an official.

"Yeah, I had a lot of malice in my heart," Suggs said Wednesday while smiling. "I think I head-butted a ref."

It was a strange day for the Ravens. Safety B.J. Ward was ejected for making contact with an official while he was while trying to break up an argument between Ed Reed and Lions tight end Casey FitzSimmons. Reed was fined $15,000 after the game was reviewed.

Also, wide receiver Derrick Mason flung the ball at a wall next to the stands, nose tackle Maake Kemoeatu flipped off the crowd at halftime and cornerback Chris McAlister threw a ball at a Lions wide receiver after an interception.

The Ravens were one penalty shy of tying the NFL record for penalties in a game.

"It was an interesting day," Suggs said. "But that’s in the past and we don’t ever want to see that side of us again.”

Back in 2005 when informed of Carey's remarks, Suggs said: "I heard that word means he felt like I was going to do something. You can't throw somebody out because you think they're going to do something to you. First of all, if I was going to do something to you, I would have done it in the first three steps. ... I was upset, and, in short, I asked him why he is calling the game like this? If you are going to call the game close, call the game close on both sides."

Since that game, Carey has been assigned to several Ravens games with no further incidents between him and Suggs.

Suggs said the memories won't come flooding back to him when he returns to Detroit on Monday.

"No, they won't come back at all," he said. "That was then, this is now. Wow, time sure does fly."